Picking A Rear End For A 50 Shoebox??

Going To Use A 8 Or 9 Inch Rear End What Years That Can Be Use??will A 86 Mustang Rear End Work On A 50 Shoebox??

 

maverick rears work really good

 

Check this link out, helped me alot in past builds.
http://www.teufert.net/other/rear%20end dimensions.htm
The stock measurment for the 49-51 ford is 57"

 

Ditto that, but I believe the maverick is a 8"..but that would be my pick, the maverick..slides right in place.

 

yeah i dont even think you have to change the spring perches

 

i have a 1957 ford 9'', think out of a fairlane... bolts right in on the same brackets without moving a thing... also fit my 51 brakes on it no problems... easy swap!

 

we used a rear end out of a ford explorer 4x4 and narrowed the long side by almost 3 in. and got anouther right side axle. this made the
correct width rear end and has disc brakes.great fit and cheep.
oh by the way it,s a 8.8.good luck
you can see how we did at a story about my son building a car for my dad.
try a advanced sreach for ls1wagon.

 

man im gonna have to print that out,thanks dude

 

No prob man! I hope it helps you, and I hope others see this link to. It will help save some dirty knees and bruised foreheads form climbing under cars.

 

the dirty knees and bruised foreheads is the best part ,it keeps reminding you of how much you love cars lol

 

i wonder why the 57 ford rear end isnt on that list? i swear it was a bolt up thing... hmm... makes me think...

 

I heard a ford ranger rear end is supposed to bolt up easy as well.

 

i have a chevy 327... i have a 3.50 ratio 3rd member out of an 80's bronco

 

Don't fear Odd ball! The 57 is on there. On the top under 57" axle measurments. Im running a sbc as well! A '78 305, when I got it I was told it was a 350, got home and ran the casting numbers and found out it was a 305. Cant complain though, the price was right, FREE!!

 

i run a stock 350 with a 4 barrel and headers on my 52 chevy truck with 3.50 rear gears and it seems to work good

 

what transmission are you planning? i just have a saginaw 4 speed... no over drive... the 3.50's work well... that is also what was in the 57 i believe.. or something close to it

 

haha... i must have overlooked it... oops!

 

well.. if your cruising.. id stick with anywhere from 3.xx gear, maybe even a 2.xx ratio if you are lookin for lots of highway driving... for racing, 4.xx gear

 

Yeah, that rear will be fine. I beleive that year axle is a 28 spline. Thinking 3.73's? let me check.

 

ya... i think it is a 28... i cant remember now.. which ever is more difficult to find... ha, i remember that part

 

You want the 31 spline if you can find it, Thats the cream baby! the hard one to find.

 

like i said though... an 80 something bronco had a 3rd member that worked with the axles... those cant be too hard to find

 

Didn't shoeboxes come with an 8in spicer type diff. I don't understand why you'd "update" with a 70's maverick or bronco diff when a stock one is the same or better? From what I heard shoebox diffs are strong as long as the U joint cap bolts are torqued to spec.

 

I used a 9" 78 Granada. 3.25 and love it.

 

so......the 57-59 ford 9" is obviously the easiest bang for blood, does this include a pickup rear as well? Anyone? I have a mopar 8.25 rear in mine that came in it, but gears are too high and one leggers suck with the big block or period for that matter. Just hate to do an 8" behind the 429, kind of sketchy to me....eh?

 

I'm with you. I've had the stock '51 rear end (Fordomatic 3.31 ratio) behind a ZZ3 in my car for 13 years. Broke one axle, otherwise no prob. It has become commonplace to upgrade the rear end in any modified shoebox, but it's really not necessary. The stock rear ends were not failure-prone when they were current. Unless you're gonna really hammer it, the stock axle is adequate up to 350 HP or so.

 

i had the stocker in for a few years with my 327-4 speed combo... nver had a problem... but they started to wine, gears where pretty sharp when i took them out... just was time for a new one, and just so happend to come across an old 57 out in the weeds with one in it...

 

They look similar, but are not the same as the Ford 8" that came out in the 60's. They no longer make replacement gears for the stock Ford rear and your ratios are fairly limited (4.11, 3.73, 3.54 & 3.31 I think), also, there aren't any traction devices (limited slip or posi) units available. These are the reasons I went with an 8" rear, 3.55 gears and a posi unit to run behind my flatty and T-5.

 

Whats the most common ratio for a shoebox rear. I see you have them listed above. Mine was a manual car non-OD but I also have a '50 OD rear. Any guess on the ratios? I'm thinkin 3.31 in the car, 4.11 for the OD rear?

 

maverick rear is what I used, but it limits you on the offset and width of the rear wheels. my stock 15" wheels fit fine, they are narrow and almost look like they have positive offset. I have some 15"x7" ETs and they are so close to rubbing, I'm not sure if it is safe.